Friday, October 7, 2011

Farrington House, Alderley

Spectacular? I would think so! This house was listed for sale recently, and the indications are that it did sell. I don't know the details, but to give you an idea, the property was sold in 2003 for $3.15 million.(Photos:http://www.brisbane-real-estate-guide.com/)The house is known as Farrington House, and it sits atop a hill in one of Brisbane's near-northern suburbs, with 360 degree views as far as Moreton Bay. It has three levels, 7 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms and can garage 6 cars.

Farrington House was built in 1882 or thereabouts for wealthy Brisbane biscuit manufacturer Frederick Waters Wilson. His company FW Wilson Steam Biscuit Co (I have no idea what a steam biscuit is, but there were also other manufacturers such as Arnotts, Excelsior and Swifts) was a well known maker of biscuits and also wedding cakes. The house has often been referred to as the "wedding cake house". Although the house is listed on the State Heritage Register, there are no details about the designer or the builder. Here is a photograph of Farrington House from 1932.(Photo: State Library of Queensland and John Oxley Library; #16893)

Farrington House had several owners until it was bought by the Baptist Union of Queensland who called it Clifford House, a residential facility for the elderly from 1948 to 1956. After that, it became a boarding house, and subsequently fell into disrepair. One of my blog readers tells me that the local children treated it as a haunted house during this time.

Farrington House has been a private residence for the last several years. Obviously it has been renovated since those earlier days, and I think that it looks pretty special now.

As a teenager in the 80s, I would walk from Alderley station often pass Farrington House. Even then, we local kids thought that it was haunted. There were even stories of it. Naturally, it made it all the more appealing to us! And thereis another house across the road from it - a brick one, I think, that also had it's own story.